They come from all walks of life: engineers, students, educators, medical workers, etc. But they all share one passion in common: a love for photography. And the ability to take photos that make one sit up and take a second look, a long second look.
These are the photos that make me gasp! And I wish to share them with you -- with kind permission from the copyright owners.
Hopefully they will inspire you to go out and take great photos too!
Enjoy!
Frosty the Cat by William Vogt of Boston, Massachusetts, USA
D70, 85mm AF f/1.4D, iso200, 1/40s, f/1.4, AWB, aperture priority, no flash
Let's hear how Bill took the photo and learn what he did in pp:
"The photo was taken with a D70 and the fabulous Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 lens. I took it under natural light in my living room and it was quite dark. No flash was used. I took a series of photos (now deleted) but settled on this one as it seemed to be the best with respect to exposure and sharpness. The histogram was quite skewed to the right (dark), but I was already at 1/40 sec at f/1.4 and didn't want to chance any blur by shakey hand holding. I kept the ISO at 200 on purpose, I didn't want any noise.
So... the image was post processed in Photoshop CS2. Adjustment layers for Levels and Curves really did the trick. His eyes were quite dark so I used a dodging and burning action called Paint With Light to brighten the eyes and bring out the color. I also used Photoshop's Surface Blur filter to help smooth out any noise that did show up (there wasn't much, anyhow). I sharpened at the end of the retouch. I don't use USM, but Focus Magic and High Pass set to a blending mode of Soft Light in Photoshop on separate layers so I have complete control of the sharpening. I really don't like Unsharp Mask for sharpening."
He also mentioned he focused on the cat's nose (great tip!) due to the Nikkor 85's shallow DOF at maximum aperture.
Bill is a nuclear chemist by profession. You can see more of Bill's works at www.pbase.com/wvphoto
Aside from the sharpness and excellent composition, what makes this photo endearing to me is the way the colors combined to produce a very relaxing and soothing effect on the viewer. The creamy white fur and pink ears of Frosty harmonizes very beautifully with the creamy bokeh of the photo. Wonderful shot! Thank you, Bill!
Please check back for more inspiring photos to come!
© Copyright : Please note that all images carry the copyright of their respective owners and shall not be used without their permission.
These are the photos that make me gasp! And I wish to share them with you -- with kind permission from the copyright owners.
Hopefully they will inspire you to go out and take great photos too!
Enjoy!
Frosty the Cat by William Vogt of Boston, Massachusetts, USA
D70, 85mm AF f/1.4D, iso200, 1/40s, f/1.4, AWB, aperture priority, no flash
Let's hear how Bill took the photo and learn what he did in pp:
"The photo was taken with a D70 and the fabulous Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 lens. I took it under natural light in my living room and it was quite dark. No flash was used. I took a series of photos (now deleted) but settled on this one as it seemed to be the best with respect to exposure and sharpness. The histogram was quite skewed to the right (dark), but I was already at 1/40 sec at f/1.4 and didn't want to chance any blur by shakey hand holding. I kept the ISO at 200 on purpose, I didn't want any noise.
So... the image was post processed in Photoshop CS2. Adjustment layers for Levels and Curves really did the trick. His eyes were quite dark so I used a dodging and burning action called Paint With Light to brighten the eyes and bring out the color. I also used Photoshop's Surface Blur filter to help smooth out any noise that did show up (there wasn't much, anyhow). I sharpened at the end of the retouch. I don't use USM, but Focus Magic and High Pass set to a blending mode of Soft Light in Photoshop on separate layers so I have complete control of the sharpening. I really don't like Unsharp Mask for sharpening."
He also mentioned he focused on the cat's nose (great tip!) due to the Nikkor 85's shallow DOF at maximum aperture.
Bill is a nuclear chemist by profession. You can see more of Bill's works at www.pbase.com/wvphoto
Aside from the sharpness and excellent composition, what makes this photo endearing to me is the way the colors combined to produce a very relaxing and soothing effect on the viewer. The creamy white fur and pink ears of Frosty harmonizes very beautifully with the creamy bokeh of the photo. Wonderful shot! Thank you, Bill!
Please check back for more inspiring photos to come!
© Copyright : Please note that all images carry the copyright of their respective owners and shall not be used without their permission.